Month: February 2019

FOR OTHER EYES

heidi08 Beaver Art February 8, 2019

One thing I never quite get used to (even thought I should) Is that other people – people I do not even know – read this website. I am always surprised to get a comment or link from someone I never met. Why, just the other day someone commented on the “Frequently asked questions”sites that the information provided was “rubbish” and that beavers did so live in the dam!

I’m guessing they had personally dynamited their dam to kill their beavers and then seen no more beavers so of course it worked! I couldn’t help it. I had to reply that this was a fact I was certain of and insist it was true.

The internet is a very interesting place. Sometimes like an busy international train station and sometimes like a nearly empty bus station at night.

Yesterday a member of the Pokeberry Creek Wetlands commented on the hurricane article which was a blast from the past because I had almost forgotten the story of the Chatam county North Carolina neighbors who wanted to protect the wetland near their homes last april I should have remembered because their lovely website boasted one of my all time favorite photos.

Even more surprising was the ‘ping back’ from a site called “Your Northwest Forests” which had linked to our beaver hat activity and included our site under their “for more information” section. Which I guess makes sense. We do have a LOT of experience doing kids activities that teach about beavers. And I do, after all, have a doctorate in child psychology BUT say what you like. There was afact about the YNF link that surprised me very, very much.

Source information: Forest Features highlight a new Pacific Northwest species (or sometimes, a family, order, kingdom, or genus) each month as part of the USDA Forest Service – Pacific Northwest Region’s regional youth engagement strategy.

I guess when the youth engagement part of the Forest Service links to you, you know you’re doing something right!

BEAVERS ARE WORSE THAN HURRICANES?

heidi08 Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 7, 2019

If you were looking for Lewisporte on a map (and I can’t imagine why you would be) you would need to go all the way across the united states. Past North Dakota and New York and Vermont. All the way up past Maine. Past New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Past Labrador and East coast of Canada. Into the cold Atlantic ocean and onto the very last shivering northern island of Newfoundland – the very last stop on the very stretched out fingertips of an entire continent.

And THEN – once your on the very last piece of land before endless blue – go to the upper most farthest corner- practically the farthest place IN the farthest place – before you can find Lewisporte. There is a sliver of NL to their east, but basically It is so far into the blue that their closest neighbor to the North is Greenland, to the south is Guyana, and to the East is Spain.

This city is quite literally as far away as it can possibly be and still be North American.

And it has a problem with beavers. All the way out there. Are we surprised?

Dealing with the dam problem: Lewisporte hopes to trap beavers to prevent flooding

LEWISPORTE, N.L. — In hopes of preventing future floods, the town of Lewisporte is tackling a beaver problem. At their town council meeting Jan. 29, Coun. Stephen Hollet expressed concern around beaver dams in the watershed area near the Scissors Cove brook area.

With more frequent heavy rainfalls in recent years, and with memories of the flooding in 2016, the town council suspects these dams are playing a significant role in rising water levels and increasing flood risks.

“We never had that level of flooding before, even with storms like Hurricane Igor,” Hollett told The Central Voice. “The only thing that’s changed in that area is the presence of dams. We’ve noticed heavy rains are starting to occur more than what we use to see.

Because beavers are worse than hurricanes. Didn’t you know?

The town has contacted Ewen Whiteway, a licensed trapper in Lewisporte, to trap the beavers and remove them from the brook. According to Coun. Ken Tucker, while this may alleviate some of the problem, there is a risk that the beavers will return again.

“It’s only a temporary solution [if the beavers return],” Tucker said. “I think we’ll have to put in a plan of monitoring the area once or twice a year, particularly in the late summer and fall. It’s in our best interest to stay on top of the issue.”

The town council also decided to write a letter to Dept. of Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne to seek input from the province. Because of the flood risks these dams pose to the infrastructure and safety of the community, Coun. Perry Pond says the department holds some responsibility.

The department said in an emailed statement that they deal with furbearers on a case by case basis, and while there are options for conservation officers to tackle the problem, hiring local trappers is the preferred solution during winter months.

You didn’t actually say how beavers are causing a the flooding. Dams in the watershed area of scissors brook cove? Your town is so very remote I cannot actually find this on a map, But I assume the dams are backing up water in the creek before it can reach the cove. Which is flooding someone’s back yard or driveway, i guess.

I would mention that trapping is a temporary solution and that installing a flow device would address this issue for the long term. But honestly, what’s the point?

Beavers are worse than hurricanes.

LITTLE PONDS MAKE WAVES

heidi08 Beavers and climate change February 6, 2019

Cold enough for you? My parents home in the mountains looks like a scene from Dr. Zhivago and it sleeted even in low elevation Martinez yesterday. In the meantime there’s more good news about ponds from our friends at beaverphys.org

Ponds can absorb more carbon than woodland

A carbon sink in your own backyard

Measuring the rate at which ponds can store carbon is tricky, primarily because the age of many ponds is unknown. To get precise measurements of carbon burial rates we exploited an unusual opportunity using some small, lowland pools whose age is known to the exact day. The ponds were dug out in 1994, at Hauxley Nature Reserve in north-east England. Their original purpose was to follow the colonisation of plants and invertebrates.

Two decades later they had accumulated a layer of sediment, dark and rich in organic debris, distinctly different to the underlying clay. We used sediment cores and dug out all of the sediment from some ponds, to measure the organic carbon that had accumulated. The amount of carbon in the cores was

The ponds’ burial rates for organic carbon ranged from 79 to 247g per square metre per year, with a mean of 142g. These rates are high – much higher than the rates of 2-5g attributed to surrounding habitats such as woodland or grassland. Small ponds occupy a tiny proportion of the UK’s land area – scarcely 0.0006% – compared to grassland at 36% or 2.3% for ancient woodland. But the rate of carbon burial we found would result in ponds burying half as much as the vastly greater expanse of grassland.

So all those little ponds do more work burying carbon than all those forests you spend so much time protecting. And if you have a pond actually IN a forest then that saves even more! I’m thinking with those tasty trees nearby I happen to know a flat-tailed helper that can make more of them. The article goes on to say it gets complicated with some ponds like in the tundra releasing more carbon than they trap but still, on the whole, ponds are a very good thing.

These lowland ponds are easy to create, even in a back garden. They can be small and temporary – clean water is the key – and the value of their wildlife is now firmly understood. No longer overlooked, the importance of ponds in the carbon cycle and in fighting climate change is becoming apparent.

Do you remember that I mentioned I was contacted by a beaver fan in Chicago who was planning on her upcoming birthday party to collect donations for Worth A Dam? Well of course we sent a care package and gave her lots of encouragement and many thanks for the noble idea. This morning she wrote that the ‘dam birthday party’ was a blast and she donated 100 dollars she collected that night! Her party looks such a hoot. I’m sure we would have all fit right in. Thank you for helping beavers on your birthday Annette!

BEAVERS IN THE SNOW

heidi08 Beavers and Ice February 5, 2019

Yesterday a reporter from Pennsylvania emailed me urban beaver questions so I assume whatever he’s working on is on its way. Why are all these beaver showing up in cities anyway? Today there’s a link to a beaver quiz on Ontario’s park blog website that I thought you’d enjoy. it’s mostly accurate although the ecology section at the end is pretty weak tea if you ask me.

The beaver in winter

Pop quiz: do beavers hibernate? Today’s post — from Natural Heritage Education Specialist Dave Sproule — answers common questions about beavers.

Beavers are active throughout the colder seasons – no long winter’s nap for them!

In summer, we often see signs of the beaver, such as gnawed trees or bark-bare sticks floating in the water, known as “beaver chew.” More obvious evidence is the beaver dam, found along streams and at the edges of ponds, wetlands and lakes.

In winter, the signs become trickier to spot because of the snow and frozen lakes and ponds, but some beavers still have a need to chew.

Yes yes beavers need to eat even when it’s cold. Isn’t that amazing? Just because their names share some letters they’re not like bears.

3. Isn’t the water too cold?

No, beavers are well-adapted to their environment, including a waterproof coat. A layer of coarse hairs guard the surface, while underneath, a thick layer of fine hairs have tiny hooks on them that mesh together tightly to keep water out.

This coat gets much thicker in winter, and in colder climates. The further north a beaver lives, the thicker its fur.

Yes, that’s why we used to only kill them in the winter, Timmy, because their dense fur was more valuable. For 200 hears It supported some of Canada’s biggest industries. Things are very different now. Don’t worry.

Now we kill them all year long.

4. Where do they live?

Beavers live in a lodge, a structure made from mud, sticks and logs, with an underwater entrance. Lodges are often built in the middle of shallow ponds, but can be found along riverbanks and lakeshores where the water is too deep to be away from shore.

They choose a good location, usually not too close to shore, so wolves can’t dig through the top of the lodge. In winter, the mud, sticks and logs freeze together, so digging through is difficult for predators.

The water should be deep enough to support the lodge, but shallow enough that the wood

pile breaks the surface of the water.

Once the wood is piled, the beavers chew an entrance from underwater into the dry part of the wood pile, making a chamber.

I’ve always liked the idea of beavers piling the sticks and chewing their way out, but since there’s actual footage of beavers walking up onto the lodge and dropping sticks on it, it can’t be the complete explanation. Maybe they chew/dig some and carry to reinforce?

6. Why are beavers important to the ecology of the forest and waterways?

Beavers can change landscapes with their dam-building, one of the few animals able to alter their own environment.

By changing water courses, flooding forests and creating wetlands, beavers create diverse habitats that benefit many plants and animals. For instance, increasing the water’s edge provides habitat for a variety of birds, plants and insects.

In winter, a beaver pond may shelter frogs and turtles in its muddy bottom, as well as dragonfly larvae, and brook trout. Beaver lodges have even been known to become homes for muskrat, living in their own private “apartment” (but, of course, not paying rent!).

That’s it? Beavers change the water course? Bulldozers change the watercourse. . No mention of shifting mud, increasing invertebrates, or filtering toxins? No mention of more fish eating those more bugs and more wildlife and birds eating those ‘more’ fish. Sheesh. I expect more from a park ranger.

So next time you pass a frozen wetland or pond, keep your eyes peeled for gnawed trees or rising steam, and tip your toque to one of Ontario’s coolest creatures!

Which leaves me with just two questions. Why don’t education specialist park rangers,responsible for protecting and interpreting the land for the public, know more about beaver benefits and just what the hell is toque?

LISTENING TO BEAVERS

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact February 4, 2019

Well our anonybeaver is alive and gaining weight. There are no broken bones so they don’t think she was hit by a car. She’s gained some weight and gets to go outside to the larger enclosure and swim in the kiddie pool. They’re still unsure about her cognitive functioning so we talked a little about which beaver sense should be the sharpest.

The wildlife hospital relies on your support to do this work so donate now and why not also mention that you support their care of beavers!

Meanwhile, now that Jon’s officially an almost citizen its time catch up with my other jobs. like asking for donations for the silent auction, getting our banners updated, finding bands and planting tomato seedlings. Later in the month i have to go to the parks and recreation commission to make sure we can have another festival.

Busy as you know what. But I’m sure we all have time for this nice report from Vermont public radio.

Outdoor Radio: Wintertime With North American Beavers

In this month’s episode of Outdoor Radio, conservation biologist Steve Faccio joins Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra on a frozen beaver pond in Pomfret, Vermont. Together they explore what winter is like in an active beaver lodge and dam. They venture on the ice looking for the beavers’ winter stash of food hidden in the snow.

Very nice! And just in you are thinking that this interest in beavers is a flash in pan and not here to stay, think again. A friend sent a link to this 1950 Disney True-life adventure film that was just put online. I was stunned at how savvy the narration was but the soundtrack has seen better days. And that dam is a beauty!